Kingdom Hearts Legacy
by Moogle Empress
Summary: The tale of Kingdom Hearts is retold through the eyes of a young Keyblade wielder, Aseru. When her teacher, Yen Sid, sends her to Destiny Islands to investigate for answers. She hadn't expected to embark on a journey that she had not been prepared for, exploring new worlds and make some true friends along the way. What is the secret legacy that lies within Kingdom Hearts?
1. Episode 1: Destiny Islands

**Kingdom Hearts Legacy**

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts! If I did than I would have made an anime series! Really, I would, it's that awesome. =3

Note: Just to let you know, there will be OCs, so I hope that you enjoy their characters and how they contribute in the story. The story might be altered a bit to suit the new story devices and characters in order for them to develop, but the main story is more or less the same as the original game, so enjoy! =D

Pairings: SoraXKairi, possible RikuXOC? (I haven't decided on that yet it still might be OCXOC)

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Humor and of course totally fantasy. XP

Summery: The tale of Kingdom Hearts is retold through the eyes of a young Keyblade wielder, Aseru. When her teacher, Yen Sid, sends her to Destiny Islands to investigate for answers. She hadn't expected to embark on a journey that she had not been prepared for, and make some true friends along the way.

* * *

**Episode 1: Destiny Islands**

* * *

_This is a tale from an age long since past, from a time when the worlds were still one. This is called the 'Legacy of Light and Dark'._

_Long ago, the worlds were once united, whole and complete, it was bathed in the warm glow of the light._

_For a time and age, peace reigned over, and guarding the peace were people known as Keyblade Masters. Back then, there were many Keyblade Wielders. They protected the light all over the world that kept the world in its bountiful light._

_People loved the light, so much in fact, that they eventually begun to fight over it. Thus, darkness crept into the hearts of people._

_The darkness spread throughout the land and consumed the hearts and light of the people. The Keyblade Masters soon became divided, one fought for light, while the other fought for darkness. In search of the ultimate Keyblade of them all, the X-blade, the 'Keyblade War' begun, where Keyblade Masters of light and dark fought against each other to the death._

_It was not long before the world became completely consumed and disappeared into the depths of darkness._

_However, there was still hope, a glimmer of light prevailed in the hearts of children. The children gathered their light together and created the world anew, however, to prevent another war like the Keyblade War happening ever again, the world was formed into many smaller worlds._

_These small fragments of the old world became worlds of their own, scattered across the skies, all seperated by walls of light. However, although they were far apart, the bond that all the worlds shared when it was still one would forever be there. And their locks became hearts of their own._

_The reason for this was because the true light was still hidden deep within the darkness. It was hidden deep within a grand door, where beyond it was great darkness but yet, within the murky depths, the purest light sleeps inside. This place became the Heart of all Worlds, where all hearts are born and where they return. A once sacred place that was tainted by the darkness, a realm known as Kingdom Hearts._

_The children who helped recreate the world gave up their lives to provide for Kingdom Hearts. Their pure hearts returned to their original forms and scattered across time to be reborn once more in the new worlds they helped create._

_In the end, although scattered and apart, all worlds share the same sky. One sky, one destiny._

* * *

A young girl, looking around only fourteen years old closed the book she had been reading in Yen Sid's Tower. She had blonde hair that fell just below her shoulders, with the front of her hair slightly flicked to one side. She had light sky blue eyes that shined brightly with life. She wore a neck-collared blue form-fitting vest with no sleeves and a matching dark blue jean jacket over it. She wore dark blue jean shorts, but she had white leggings underneath her shorts to cover her legs. She had fingerless gloves that went just above her wrists and brown walking boots.

She slipped the book back on the bookshelves and released a soft sigh. When she pulled herself away from the bookself, she willed a keyblade to appear in her hand.

Her Keyblade...It symbolized her heart as the keyblades are forged from Keyblade Master's heart, or so she has been told. It was pure white with the handle of the weapon shaped like wings curved together to make a heart. The keychain at the very bottom felt very familiar to her, as if it was something her heart remembered deep within it's depths. It was shaped as a heart with a crown on top and a keyblade in the middle.

She shook her head to remove that thought from her mind before examining the weapon she had in her hand. According to what her older brother had told her, what she held was a weapon of light, a weapon used to free hearts from the darkness that took form as beings known as the 'Heartless'. She thought back to legend that her brother would often tell her as a bed-time story when she very young, the story that involved Keyblade Masters and a 'Keyblade War' that happened centuries ago.

For some strange reason, even though the worlds were meant to be isolated from each other and are meant to remain oblivious to the other worlds to maintain world order, her brother has uncanny wisdom and knew things that he shouldn't really know, especially knowing how young he was.

Her brother would usually leave to check on the other worlds and protect the ones that have been infected with Heartless. But...he had been away longer than usual, and it worried her. A lot. She knew her brother was a gifted Keyblade Master, after all, he was trained by Master Yen Sid, but that didn't mean he didn't have his limits. What if something had gone wrong? What if he was in trouble?

He was the only blood relative she had left. They had lost their world to the Heartless when she was barely a year old. He was only just six years old back then, hardly able to even look after himself, let alone an infant baby. Thankfully, they found themselves on the world Disney Castle, where the good king and queen, King Mickey and Queen Minnie took them in and let them live at the castle.

She did love her brother, Kyrie, but he sometimes scared her. She didn't know how, but Kyrie knew all about the Keyblades, the worlds beyond, their homeworld, The Heartless, the legend about the Keyblade War, it was almost like sometimes he suddenly became someone else, someone who was much older, wiser, serious but then reverts back to his usual carefree and over-protective self when his alter-ego left.

That's why she was more worried than usual as Kyrie has not come back home for a long time, she was worried if his dual-personality was starting to become hazardous to himself. That and the Heartless could have gotten to him, that was something she didn't want to think about.

She had been under the wing of Master Yen Sid after discovering that she was a Keyblade Wielder, just like her brother, although, that was four years ago now. She wondered how King Mickey, Queen Minnie and all her other family like figures were doing back on Disney Castle. She didn't think much about her original homeworld, probably because she was too young to remember it. To her, Disney Castle was her home.

"Aseru," Yen Sid's voice called out of nowhere and made Aseru jump. She dispelled her keyblade back into thin air again before turning around to face her mentor.

"Yes, Master Yen Sid?" Aseru replied.

"I assumed you would be here. You always did have a strong interest in reading."

"Heh heh, guess I'm what you call a bookworm, huh?"

"There is no wrong in gaining wisdom, in fact, I would encourage it. That is not what I came here to tell you though. You are aware that your brother, Kyrie, has not returned here or at Disney Castle for a long time now?" Yen Sid softly smiled before his face turned serious once again.

"I won't lie to you, Master. I'm really worried about him." Aseru expressed her concern for her brother.

"I understand that you must feel worried, but he is a capable Keyblade Master, I am sure that he will contact us soon." Yen Sid calmly reassured her.

"How can you be sure about that, Master?" Aseru looked confused.

Just then, a small device that she had secured safely in her pocket began to rumble, she took it out and pressed a button to activate it. It was a small blue sphere with a metallic ring around the middle, when activated it would glow and allow anyone to speak through them, provided the other person also had the same device.

_**"Aseru? Master Yen Sid? Can either of you hear me?"**_ A young man's voice echoed through the device.

"Kyrie! Thank goodness, you've finally made contact! What took you so long?" Aseru cried out in relief.

_**"I'm sorry, Sis. Its been hard to get a good signal in Hallow Bastion, the place is crawling with Heartless and I haven't even seen a single person since I got here. Well, besides that shady looking group that hangs around in the castle."**_ Kyrie explained.

"Why are you at Radiant Garden, Kyrie? I thought that world was completely swallowed by the Heartless." Yen Sid pressed.

_**"It is, well, most of Radiant Garden is gone, the only piece of Radiant Garden that remains is the Castle. Man, if you can only see the place now, it's really been twisted up by the darkness. Ah, that's right! I have a report to make, Master."**_ Kyrie responded.

"Go ahead then," Yen Sid ready to listen to what Kyrie had to report.

_**"While I was in Radiant Garden, or...Hallow Bastion as it's called now, I've noticed that these shady people I've seen in the castle have been kidnapping young girls."**_

"Young girls?" Aseru blinked as she repeated what Kyrie had just said.

_**"Yeah, they all looked important too, I think they're Princesses, but...why would they be kidnapping Princesses and bringing them here, of all places?"**_

"Hmmm...This is very troubling news indeed. I will have to inform my former student, King Mickey, about this." Yen Sid narrowed his eyes in deep thought.

_**"That's not all, I've heard them talking about a place called 'Destiny Islands', they said they were going to send Heartless there to claim it. I wasn't able to get anymore information other than that. You think they're looking for something there?"**_ Kyrie added.

"Destiny Islands, you say?" Yen Sid rubbed his chin.

"Do you know that world?" Aseru looked up to her teacher.

"Yes. It's a very peaceful yet isolated world, legends go that the reason it is called 'Destiny Islands' is because it was where two heroes of ancient yore were born, destined for greatness, and also for its rumoured connection to Kingdom Hearts. Legends often speak some truth within the myth." Yen Sid nodded.

_**"That must be why then! They must be after the secrets of Kingdom Hearts that are possibly hiding there. I'll head over to Destiny Islands and investigate, Master." **_Kyrie responded with fiery determination.

"No, I will need you to stay there and keep a close eye on this 'shadowy group' you mentioned. If they are kidnapping Princesses, then we might be in greater danger than we had first assumed. I will send Aseru instead to Destiny Islands." Yen Sid shook his head.

"Huh?! Me?" Aseru's eyes widened in shock.

_**"M-my sister? I don't doubt her abilities with her Keyblade, she's very skilled in using it, but...are you sure this is still a good idea? She's never been to any other worlds besides this one and Disney Castle. Also her people skills aren't exactly...well..."**_ Kyrie seemed just as shocked about their Master's decision.

"You must have faith in Aseru, she might be young, but I believe this was meant to be her mission, yours should be to stay vigilant at Hallow Bastion and tell me of any changes there. You have done a good job of remaining hidden from our enemies, we could use eyes and ears in that world."

_**"I understand. Then I will do as you say, Master. Are you okay with this, Aseru? I mean...this is your first real mission as a Keyblade wielder."**_

"I...I don't know. What if I'm not ready? What if I fail? What if I can't protect Destiny Islands? What-" Aseru went through a thousand worst case scenarios but Yen Sid placed his hands reassuringly on her shoulders.

"I know you will do your best. I would not send you on this mission if I did not think you were ready. I wish had I more time to train you, but since there are very few Keyblade Masters now, I will need you to be strong." Yen Sid encouraged.

"...You're right, Master. I'm a Keyblade Wielder. I will do my best." Aseru nodded.

"I know you will. Be sure to take your com-sphere with you, it would be wise to stay in contact with myself or Kyrie if you gather anything important on Destiny Islands." Yen Sid added.

"Yes, Master. Uh...how do I get to Destiny Islands? I can't use a Gummi ship." Aseru questioned.

"Hmmm, indeed. We need to ensure that Destiny Islands remains oblivious about the other worlds and the Heartless. Remember, Aseru, the world order must be uphold to keep peace, you must also not interfere with the affairs of other worlds or reveal any secrets to the inhabitants of that world." Yen Sid wisely cautioned.

"Thank you, Master. I'll keep that in mind." Aseru nodded.

"As for the means to take you to your destination, I can use my magic to send you there and back, once you've investigated Destiny Islands completely, signal me through your com-sphere and I shall use it to bring you back here."

"Right, I'm ready to be teleported to Destiny Islands, Master." Aseru steeled herself as she prepared herself to undertake her mission.

_**"Please take care, okay, Sis?"**_ Kyrie voiced his last words to her.

"I will, I'll talk to you soon, big brother." Aseru smiled before she switched off the com-sphere.

"Very well, I wish you luck, young one." Yen Sid nodded slightly and begun his spell of teleportation.

A bright light appeared underneath her feet, the light grew and encased within the ball of light, the ball then zoomed out from the tower's window and sailed into the mixed sky above.

"I pray for your safe return, Aseru..." Yen Sid looked out the window for a few minutes before returning to his study, he had a letter to a certain king to write.

* * *

The next thing Aseru knew after being engulfed by the ball of light, was being drenched as she was thrown right into the sea, next to an islet that appeared to be a playground of sorts.

Freed from the spell, she swam up to the surface and took a big gasp of air. Seeing the first sight of land, she swam towards it. While swimming, she grumbled a bit about the spell.

_'Geez, Master, your spell could have sent me on dry land instead right into the ocean!'_

Once she reached the shallow part of the beach, she marched herself on the sand until she was out of the ocean completely, where she fell on her back and took a few minutes to gather her senses from the...unexpected impact.

"So, this is Destiny Islands," She sat up and looked around her surroundings in awe. The sky was a yellow-orange shade as the sun rose upwards to the sky, it was almost like the sun was coming out from the ocean. "Wow, this place looks so...exotic! I don't think Disney Castle had a place like this back home." She blinked in realization and slapped herself to snap herself out of her awe-struck trance.

"I have no time for sight-seeing! I've got a mission to complete, Master Yen Sid and Kyrie are counting on me! Where would I even begin though...? First thing I'll need to do is dry these clothes out, I can't go walking around in wet clothes, I'll also need a place to camp out to make sure I investigate this world properly. But it'll need to be somewhere remote, somewhere I can work quietly and out of sight, somewhere-"

"Excuse me-"

"HEARTLESS!" Aseru reacted on her reflexes and turned around and punched in the direction of the voice.

"OW!"

_'Huh? That's different...'_ Aseru noted mentally. It wasn't until she looked down to notice her big mistake.

* * *

Riku was almost sure that girl had broken his nose. Out of everything he was expecting when he approached the strange blonde girl, getting punched in the face by her was the last thing he thought she would do.

"Again, I'm really sorry about this, Mister." The girl apologised for the fifth time as she tried to use a first aid kit that she carried in her pouch to mend her damage. So far she had managed to clean and stop the blood from his nose.

"Next time, I'll remember to keep a few steps away from you before trying that again." Riku groaned.

"What are you doing here this early in the morning, anyway?" She questioned.

"You're one to talk, I could ask the same about you. I've never seen you around here or on the main island before, and I know everyone on the main island. How about you tell me where you came from or why you're out here this early in the morning?" Riku narrowed his eyes skeptically.

The girl froze up, it was almost like she was processing to think of an answer.

* * *

Aseru had to think of an excuse and fast! It was bad enough that she ran into a local of the island, but he was interrogating her for answers.

"I...I'm new here. Just moved from another Island, it was pretty far away and I've only just arrived a few moments ago." Aseru made up.

"Right...then why are you wet?" Riku pointed to her wet clothes.

"Oh that! Right, yes, well, when I arrived I kind of lost my balance and fell into the water. Pretty stupid, huh?" Aseru smiled.

"..." Riku didn't seem to buy it.

_'Oh no, he knows I'm lying! What am I going to do? I can't reveal that I'm a Keyblade wielder, or that a Heartless threat is on its way here or that there are other worlds beyond this one!'_

"You can fool others with that fake smile but you can't fool me. You're really from another world, aren't you?" Riku stated bluntly.

_'Busted!'_

"You don't know that. I could be just another person on this island that you've never known existed." Aseru bluffed.

"One, your outfit is too outlandish, even Sora's fashion sense makes more sense than yours on Destiny Islands. Two, you're a really terrible liar, and three, I have a friend who does come from another world so I am already aware there are other worlds beyond this one." Riku stated everything so bluntly that it hurt.

"That's harsh." She sniffed.

"I was only being honest with you." Riku simply countered.

"Fine, I do come from another world, satisfied? But you aren't getting anymore than that. I'm sworn to secrecy and not even your smooth charisma will make me break it." Aseru crossed her arms and turned her head sharply away.

"You could at least tell me your name, or is that a secret too?" Riku sarcastically replied.

"...Aseru." She answered after some thought.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it? Anyway, since you're new to this world, I guess I'll tell you mine, I'm Riku." Riku introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you. Again, I'm really sorry about punching you, there was no evil intention behind it, it's just a reflex I have." Aseru stood up and bowed. "I have to get going now, I hope you get better soon."

"Wait, just where exactly are you going? There really isn't much that Destiny Islands has to offer. This place is just too small and dull, there's hardly anything worth finding here."

"How can you say that? You might not appreciate it, but personally, I feel something special about this world. You have a really beautiful world, you know, you should be more grateful." Aseru smiled as she looked at the sky above.

"...Even from you that sounds bizarre." Riku raised an eyebrow at that.

"Don't judge me," Aseru puffed her cheeks. "Oh! By the way, you never told me, why are you here so early?" Aseru asked her previous question before Riku's interrogation.

"...Raft building." Riku stated simply.

"Raft...building? What's a raft?" Aseru blinked.

"..."

"..."

"...Seriously? You've never heard or seen a raft?" Riku broke the silence.

"Hey! I was raised in a world completely consisted of a castle and a city, what do you expect?" Aseru barked before realizing she spoke too much again and proceeded to hit herself against a palm tree for her lack of control.

"Don't do that! You'll give yourself a concussion!" Riku decided to intervene before Aseru could knock herself into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Wait, Riku! I have other things to do, where are you taking me?" Aseru demanded as she was dragged along by Riku by her arm. Riku made do with a bandage over his nose since small first aid kits can only do so much for a nearly broken nose.

"Showing you what a raft looks like, and making sure you don't self-inflict yourself with head injuries again." Riku sighed.

"I wasn't suppose to say anything about the outside worlds and I blabbed about it. I'm terrible at keeping secrets." Aseru sighed sadly.

"You only just told me your world was had a castle and a city, that's hardly breaking a rule, is it?" Riku rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"That's not the point." Aseru glared.

They soon arrived at what appeared to be an alcove of sorts, and tightly secured just on the edge of the sandy edge was a wooden platform with a long wooden pole in the middle. The platform was tied up with rope to secure the logs together.

"So...this is a raft...That's so cool! So you use this as a boat, right?" Aseru asked excitedly.

"...Yeah, it'll float at least. It's not finished yet though, but we should be able to complete it in a few days give or take." Riku answered.

"Huh, I've only seen boats in books that I read, so to see something similar to it, it's really amazing! That must be really cool life, living on the sea, like a pirate!" Aseru beamed.

"...You really are the weirdest girl I have ever met. _Ever._" Riku shook his head.

"Oh yeah, by the way, what did you mean by 'we'?" Aseru wondered but soon got her answer when two new voices entered the alcove.

"Morning Riku!" Kairi waved.

"How did you get here so fast?" Sora asked as both he and Kairi entered the alcove.

"Because I came here at the crack of dawn." Riku sighed.

"Oh. Hm?" Sora placed his hands behind his head in a carefree way, he soon noticed a new face next to Riku.

"Hey! Who's the new girl, Riku? It's rude not to introduce new friends." Kairi beamed happily.

"Wait! Riku, is she your-"

"**NO**. She is not, Sora." Riku growled, knowing that Sora was bound to ask that question.

"Not your what?" Aseru looked confused.

"Oh don't mind them, they're like this most of the time. I'm Kairi by the way, nice to meet you." Kairi introduced herself.

"Um...nice to meet you, my name is Aseru." Aseru blinked by shyly answered back.

"Aseru? That's a really nice name. It's not a name I've heard before though." Kairi complimented.

"Well...I was told that it's an old rare name, so I guess not many people heard of it." Aseru added.

"Nice to meet you, Aseru! I'm Sora." Sora cheerfully introduced himself.

"Um, nice to meet you as well." Aseru repeated.

"Riku! What happened to your nose?!" Sora soon noticed the bandage over Riku's nose.

Riku grumbled before answering. "I bumped into a tree on the way here." He lied through his teeth.

"Really? That doesn't seem like you, Riku." Kairi tilted her head.

Riku then gave Aseru a glare that spoke: 'If you DARE tell them what _really _happened, you'll be sorry.'

Aseru took the hint and decided to improvise, "I didn't really see what happened, but I was the one who mended it...well...I say mended but..." Aseru struggled to think of a good story to back up their lie.

"Never mind about that. We have other things to worry about, like working on our raft." Riku brushed it off, changing the topic to the half-made raft.

"...Okay." Sora simply shrugged. "So...Is there anything else we need?" Sora turned to their small wooden creation.

"We'll need more logs for starters. We'll worry about provisions after we finish the raft." Riku told them.

"Is Aseru going to help us out?" Kairi raised a question.

"Oh, ah, well...I..." Aseru stuttered for moment, unsure how to respond. She was supposed to be investigating! Not playing on the island with these-

"Of course she is." Riku answered for her.

_'WHAT THE HELL?'_ Aseru screamed in her mind at Riku.

"Really? That's great! Welcome to the group, Aseru!" Sora cheered.

"I'm so happy that we have another girl in our group finally!" Kairi smiled brightly.

"..." Aseru couldn't even process an answer.

* * *

After Sora and Kairi had gone to gather more logs and materials for their raft, Aseru took this opportunity to get an answer from Riku.

"Riku! Why did you say that?!"

"That I said you were going to help with the raft?" Riku glanced at her calmly.

"Yes! I have important things to do right now, as exciting as raft-building is, I don't have time to play around." Aseru sighed loudly.

"If you must know, I was helping you. You needed a good cover so you can...do whatever it was you plan to do here. So far, all Sora and Kairi knows is that you're new to the island and you wanted to help with the raft. You can use this chance to investigate the island without gaining suspicion from either of them." Riku explained.

Aseru was surprised and impressed with Riku's plan. "I...I didn't think of it like that."

"As I said, you're a terrible liar, even Sora would be able to tell that, and trust me, he's really gullible. Anyway, if you want to go look around the island, now's your chance. I'll just tell them you're getting more logs if they come back early." Riku turned around and started to work on tying two logs together with the rest of the raft.

"...Thanks Riku. Sorry about snapping at you, I didn't realize you said that to help me." Aseru thanked and apologised for being so angry just a few moments ago.

"It's fine. After all, think of it as payback for punching me." Riku smirked.

"HEY! I already said I was sorry!" Aseru huffed. "Oh whatever! I'm going to get those 'logs', I'll be back later." Aseru stomped away from the alcove.

Riku couldn't help but give the tiniest hint of a smile. "I would be lying if I said I didn't find you interesting though."

* * *

And thus, Aseru spent the last six days trying to find any clues or signs about the 'secrets' that rested somewhere in this world, while pretending to act as if she was another Islander to her...well...I guess she could call them friends, she had become quite fond of the three islanders she met.

Sora had such an infectious smile and cheerful personality that it brightened Aseru's day even after she would come back with no evidence of her investigation at all. Sora and Riku seem to have a friendly rivalry with each other, but she had read that it was normal for friends to be like that, it was a sign of a healthy friendship, providing it didn't go too far. It was also so painfully obvious that Sora had a crush on Kairi.

Kairi had quickly become almost like a sister-figure to Aseru. Kairi seemed to have caught on by the second day that Aseru was from another world, but she kept Aseru's secret like any good friend would. Being from another world herself, Kairi felt happy that she had someone she could connect with, and Aseru wasn't going to deny Kairi that kind of bond.

Riku...well...he was different. He was definitely a lot stronger and smarter than Sora was, but that could be due to him being more mature and older. Every now and again, Riku would try to poke some more information out of her about the other worlds, but she remained dutiful to her oath. He had also begun to tease her as he would with Sora, much to her displeasure.

She also knew about the other three kids that hung around this island as well, Tidus, Selphie and Wakka, they were sweet but they did test her patience when they got a little too curious about her and her origins. Still, they remained blissfully unaware of Sora, Kairi or Riku's plans to leave Destiny Islands.

Aseru sighed in defeat as she was bringing back more logs for the raft, that was nearly seaworthy now after working on it for six whole days. Days that she could have used to look around the island for any clues about Kingdom Hearts or any activity of the Heartless or that shady group Kyrie mentioned. "Six days of checking this island in and out and got nothing. Maybe Riku was right, there really isn't anything on Destiny Islands after all."

She looked up to the sky and softly smiled. "I suppose that's a good thing, at least the Heartless won't come to this world and destroy it. I still think this place is really beautiful." She felt a warm breeze pass through her from the ocean, turning her head in that direction, it made her feel more cheerful despite having no luck in finding anything worth reporting.

"I'll give this place one more look around, maybe I'll find something worth telling Master Yen Sid about." Aseru decided to remain positive, after all, she was no quitter! With renewed determination, she continued on her way to the alcove until she noticed someone familiar near a small hole beyond the waterfall where the small watering pool was.

"Sora? What are you doing?" Aseru asked curiously as she walked closer to the familiar person.

"Whoa! Ow! Geez Aseru, you're almost as bad as Kairi with sneaking!" Sora jumped up in shock, accidentally hitting his head on the outline of the small chasm.

"Errr...sorry. So, what are you doing here?" Aseru repeated her question from before.

"Oh that...hahaha...I'm collecting food supplies and I know some mushrooms grow in here." Sora laughed nervously as he showed what he was gathering for his friends for their journey.

"Oh I see," she then glanced at the chasm and looked puzzled. "I've never noticed this place before, do you know what's in here?"

"Oh that's right! You're new here! C'mon, I'll show you." Sora grinned, taking hold of Aseru's arm and guiding her inside the chasm, dropping the logs that she was carrying, but she could always come back for them afterwards.

* * *

After crawling through the narrow tunnel, it opened up to a small open space with white chalk scribbled on the rocks, a lot of these pictures were very badly drawn but still seemed very sweet to look at.

She then noticed a huge wooden door with an equally huge keyhole attached to the door, she blinked and rubbed her eyes, when she opened them again, the keyhole was gone. _'Did I just imagine that? I could have sworn that I saw a keyhole on that door, wait, could this-!'_

"Aseru? You okay?" Sora waved his hand in front of her face, that was enough to snap her out of her thoughts.

"Oh! Of course, sorry about that. I was taken away by the discovery, I never expected a cave like this to be found on this island." Aseru lied, hoping Sora would buy it, which thankfully he did.

"If you say so...Anyway, I guess you saw that huge wooden door right? To be honest, Riku and I have no idea what it is either." Sora noted while placing his hands behind his head in a carefree manner.

"Hmmm...Is it a door? Or a window?" Aseru played along, although she already knew what this really was. The door that leads to the heart of this world. It hid its keyhole so only those who wielded keyblades could see it.

"I have a hunch its a door to somewhere really special, but beats me where the keyhole is." Sora guessed.

_'Not a bad hunch at all.' _Aseru was quite impressed, although Sora wasn't a keyblade wielder, he definitely had the potential to become one. She saw Sora crouch down to a certain corner to pick up the mushroom that was growing there, but also seemed to stare at an old drawing. Creeping closer to look, she noticed that it was a picture of two crudely drawn faces, one looked like Kairi and the other looked like Sora, or at least that's what they were trying to project on to the rocks. Quietly observing, she noticed Sora picked up small rock from the ground and started to alter the picture a bit.

The finished result was an arm outstretched with a star shape object at the end, as if offering the star to Kairi. Her lips curled into a cat-like smirk. "Oh I get it, so I was right~"

Sora seemed to have frozen on the spot. "Ahhh! I forgot you were behind me!" Sora cried out.

"Sora, please. I already knew you had a crush on Kairi ages ago. You're not good at hiding those affectionate feelings for her, it's so obvious I wouldn't be surprised if Kairi already suspected something." Aseru winked.

"Great, just what I need, another Riku to pick on me." Sora grumbled.

"Don't worry, I have no intention on telling Kairi about this. From what my knowledge based on the books that I've read as a child, as a girl myself, I would find it much more touching if it came from the heart and heard it from the person doing the confessing." Aseru lectured.

"What is it with you and books?" Sora blinked.

"Heh heh, let's just say...I'm a bit of a bookworm. I just don't carry glasses with me since I have twenty-twenty vision." Aseru chuckled. "Still what's that star thing you're offering there? Now that I think about it, I've seen fruit shaped like this on some of the trees."

"Oh, they're called Paopu Fruit. They're really delicious but there's also a legend behind them. According to legends that are told on this island, if you share a Paopu fruit with someone who you really love, your hearts will be bound together for all eternity." Sora recited the folklore legend that the elders and even their parents tell their children about. It was a famous legend that lasted for hundreds of years.

"That's so romantic~!" Aseru went starry-eyed. She then blinked and shook her head quickly to shake such thoughts and coughed. "I mean, how very interesting. I wonder if that legend is true?" Aseru faintly blushed in embarrassment, but Sora didn't seem to mind, in fact he smirked, as if he already had some kind of revenge in mind for her teasing him about his crush.

"Who knows. I can't say that I believe it myself, I guess it's something you have to experience. I know! Why don't you try it with Riku?" Sora brightly grinned.

"You've **got **to be kidding..." Aseru looked dumbfounded at the thought.

"Really? I've noticed over the six days you've been here, Riku had been teasing you and trying to pry some information about yourself out. So I kinda thought there was something going on between you two..." Sora looked surprised and innocently confused.

_'Wow, you really are gullible, Sora. He's just trying to get more information out of me about the other worlds and who I really am.'_ Aseru smiled although sweat dropped at Sora's sweet but very naïve thinking.

"It's like Riku told you Sora, there's nothing like that going on." Aseru patted his back.

"Oh...well I feel stupid..." Sora pouted.

"Don't fret about it. Anyway, you need to get those food provisions back to Kairi and I've got logs to deliver." Aseru brushed it off and changed the topic.

"Yeah, you're right. You promise you won't tell Kairi?" Sora nodded and questioned again about Aseru's promise.

"I swear upon my honour as a servant of the light that I will keep this to myself and leave the confession to you, when you actually get the nerves to do it." Aseru raised her hand as if she was swearing an oath.

"Servant of the light?" Sora tilited his head.

Aseru turned purple in horror, she had just slipped out something she shouldn't have. "Forget what I said! In any case, I promise to never tell Kairi and leave it to you to tell her. I promise!" Aseru quickly tried to repair the damage that she had done.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Okaaaayy...I'll take your word for it." Sora sweat dropped but decided to believe her.

Aseru laughed sheepishly but abruptly stopped when she sensed a dark presence near them. "Who's there?!" Both Sora and Aseru blurted out as they both turned to face the hooded being at the same time.

_'Wait...how did Sora know he was there...?' _Aseru questioned to herself before glancing back at their eavesdropper.

"I've come to see the door to this world." The hooded man darkly stated.

"Huh?" Sora looked completely puzzled but Aseru knew exactly what he was talking about and remained silent.

"This world has been connected."

"What are you talking about?"

"Tied to the Darkness...soon to be completely eclipsed."

"Well whoever you are, stop freaking us out like this." Sora frowned before he noticed something odd about the whole thing, "Huh? Where did you come from?"

"Sora, don't go near him. That man is completely corrupted." Aseru warned, grabbing Sora's arm to stop him from approaching the man.

"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."

"So you're from another world!" Sora's mind clicked.

"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little." The man then mocked them both.

"Oh yeah? Well, you'll see! I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!" Sora challenged.

"How about you tell us how you found this place? This place was well hidden from sight." Aseru narrowed her eyes dangerously, she would have summoned her keyblade out at this point, but Sora was still with her and she had to keep under the guise as an islander.

"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing." The man ignored the both of them and continued with his monologue.

Sora turned his gaze at the door, little did he know that the hooded man had told something to only Aseru before he faded away into the darkness.

_'And you, girl, you do not yet realize your true destiny, both you and that simple-minded boy who is most loved by Kingdom Hearts. '_

"What? Hey come back here! What did you mean?!" Aseru's eyes widened, she had no idea what his cryptic words meant, but deep down in her heart, she knew it was something very important she should know.

"Aseru? Hey, he's gone!" Sora turned intense gaze from the door back to Aseru, only to find the hooded man had vanished.

"...That hooded man...what did he mean by that...? Kyrie...what was he talking about?" Aseru quietly whispered to herself, shaking slightly.

"Aseru...?" Sora called out again.

"Huh? Oh, sorry..." Aseru snapped out of her trance and looked at Sora.

"Who was that creep? He must have come from another world, there's no way anyone on the island would wear something like that." Sora crossed his arms.

"Yeah, he must be." Aseru frowned.

"Maybe it was nothing after all. Anyway, I'll head back to Riku and Kairi with the food I've gathered, I'll see you back there, okay?" Sora smiled, trying to brush the incident from his mind.

Aseru just nodded and smiled back. "Yeah, I'll be there soon." When she was certain Sora had left the cave completely, she glanced at the door for a brief few moments, clearly seeing the keyhole in the middle of the door. She turned around and headed back out of the cave.

"I wish I had Sora's optimism..." Aseru's voice shivered at the hooded man's words as she replayed them in her mind...she did not have a good feeling about any of this...

* * *

That's all for chapter one. I hope you enjoyed the story so far. =3

Chapter two will be out as soon as possible and for those reading and following 'A Puppy's Tale' over on the FF7 section, don't panic, the fan fic is still alive. Its just the latest chapter is taking some time, since I had been busy for while and distracted by other things. But I will definitely get around to getting the next chapter up since you guys had been very patient. =3

In any case, please leave a review if you are able to, and let me know what you think of the story so far, as I would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you again and I hope you continue to read this fan fic as new chapters are updated. =D

Until the next chapter, Moogle Empress, signing out!

Moogle: Kupo!


	2. Episode 2: Night Of Destiny

**Episode 2: Night Of Destiny**

* * *

The sun was sinking into the ocean, marking the end of the day for the kids of the island, but for Sora, Kairi and Riku, this would be their final day on the island as the raft was finally ready to launched into the ocean. Tomorrow, they would leave the islands to search for other worlds. Aseru knew that it was a lot more complex than that to leave this world, but she didn't have the heart to crush their hopes, not after they had worked so hard in building the raft.

They even asked if Aseru was coming with them, but she declined, she still had her mission and she would signal her Master when she was ready to leave, so she had no need to depart from the islands just yet.

Aseru was looking around the island for any spots that she had missed previously from the last six days. While she was looking around the nearly deserted island, she saw that Sora and Kairi were sitting at the pier looking at the horizon. Aseru gave a soft smile at the sight, they probably wanted to talk alone so she decided to quietly walk away, allowing them their privacy. She didn't know where Riku had gone, maybe he had already left for the main Island? Now that she had time to think to herself, she remembered that she still needed to contact her master!

"I should report in to Master Yen Sid and let him know about the door and that weird cloaked man Sora and I saw. Um, actually...I better not mention Sora, Kairi or Riku to him. I don't want him or my brother to think that I'm slacking off when I should be doing my duties as a Keyblade Wielder." Aseru decided, taking out of the com-sphere that she kept hidden in one of her many pockets.

Now she needed to find somewhere where she could contact her Master and brother without being spotted by anyone. She then remembered the cave that Sora showed her, that would be a secure location for communications. She walked her way back to the small hole back behind the waterfall and crawled inside.

* * *

"Oh c'mon, work damn it!" Aseru growled as she continued to hit the com-sphere repeatedly to try and get a signal, but all she got was static. "Now I know how Kyrie felt trying to get his to work...Or it could have been from when I fell into the ocean? I'm not sure if com-spheres are waterproof." Aseru thought aloud. She then sighed in defeat and placed the com-sphere back in her pocket.

"Wonderful, my com-sphere is not working which means I'm stuck here. Can this day get any better?" Aseru sat down on the sandy ground with a ungraceful drop. Hearing the calming waves from outside and feeling the gentle wind that seeped through the gaps of the rocks, it lulled her into a sense of safety and security, it also didn't help that she didn't have a lot of sleep lately since she had been so pro-active in her investigation, before she knew it, she fell asleep against the rock that her body was leaning against.

* * *

She awoke from her slumber when she heard a voice calling her out from the void of darkness.

"Aseru? Please wake up! Aseru!"

Aseru slowly opened one eye in a sleepy daze to see who it was that was waking her up, it turned out to be Kairi.

"Kairi? Why are you here?" It took a few moments for her dazed mind to process how dark it has gotten. A little too dark for her liking...She also heard the wind howling outside violently with muffled sounds of thunder and lightning in the mix. "Wait...isn't it more louder than usual outside?" Aseru opened both of her eyes and got up quickly.

"Oh thank goodness I was able to find you. There's a storm over the island right now, I was worried about you since we didn't know where you went after we finished the raft earlier today." Kairi sighed in relief.

"You were worried about me?" Aseru was touched by the red-haired girl's concern.

"Of course! You're my friend, I had to make sure you were alright. I knew you didn't leave the island so you had to be here somewhere, so I tried looking in this cave first. I would have done the same for Sora or Riku, speaking of which...have you seen either of them? I saw one of the boats docked at the pier...so I thought one of them had come to check on the raft." Kairi placed her hands on her hips but then explained her concern for Sora and Riku.

"Thank you, Kairi." Aseru thanked but then answered Kairi's question with a serious look on her face. "But no, I wasn't aware of the storm. I must have really been in a deep sleep if I didn't hear that noise outside. I haven't seen Sora or Riku either."

"I don't know why, but there's something wrong about this storm. I have an awful feeling something terrible is going to happen to this world." Kairi clasped her hands together.

Aseru placed her hands over Kairi's to calm her fears. "Don't worry, we'll find Sora and Riku together, alright? I'll watch your back." Aseru reassured her.

"Thank you, Aseru. That makes me feel a little safer, I'll watch out for yours too! Where should we start looking?" Kairi smiled kindly.

"Hmmm...good question. How about the alcove? You said that they might have come to check on the raft, right?" Aseru suggested.

"Okay, let's hurry to the alcove." Kairi nodded, fuelled with determination to find her friends.

* * *

They left the secret cave and hurried as fast as their legs could take them with the powerful gusts of wind testing their bodies and strength to not get blown away. When they reached the alcove, they saw the raft was still one peice, although it was on the verge of being ripped apart by the winds.

"Oh no! The raft's going to break up, we need to get down there!" Kairi was the first to see this and tried to make her way downwards before black puddles began to form below them. Kairi took a few steps back in horror at what she saw, especially when two glowing eyes with two crooked antennas peer through the black puddles, looking back at her.

"Aseru...What are those things?" Kairi returned to Aseru's side to ask her what those creatures were, Aseru knew those creatures all too well.

"Heartless..." She growled dangerously, without even thinking she summoned her Keyblade out of thin air.

"Huh?! What...A key...?" Kairi blinked in pure confusion, unsure of what just happened. "Aseru...? Who...what are you...?"

"Kairi, I have a confession to make. The truth is I'm a Keyblade Wielder, I was assigned here by my Master to investigate for any clues or secrets about this world that would attract the Heartless here. I'm sorry for lying to you." Aseru confessed, seeing that there was no way she could stand by and do nothing, not when she had the power to repel the darkness back.

"Keyblade? Heartless...? Why does this sound...familiar?" Kairi whispered to herself. She shouldn't be surprised, Kairi had always expected Aseru to be from another world, but she never thought she'd have this kind of backstory...

"Kairi, I need you to get out of here, head for the cave and stay there. I'll meet you there and close the door to the world's heart, that will stop the Heartless from leaking through. Whatever you do, don't let the Heartless get near you, they'll steal your heart if you give them the chance, don't give them that chance, got it?" Aseru warned Kairi.

"No! I'm not leaving you to fight these things alone. I can help too!" Kairi shook her head defiantly.

"Please, Kairi. Without a Keyblade or a proper weapon, you won't be able to fight them off. I'll be fine, trust me! I want to protect this world and I'll do whatever it takes to protect it."

"...Okay, you better come back safe! Otherwise I'll come find you again, with Sora and Riku in tow." Kairi didn't like the idea of leaving Aseru to fight these creatures but...she was right, she would only get in the way if she tried to fight these things without anything to protect herself with. She hurried back out of the alcove, leaving Aseru with the Heartless.

"This is one world you're not going to take away, do you hear me Heartless? I'm not afraid of you! If you want this world, just try to claim it!"

One of the Heartless lunged at her first, with Aseru counter-attacking the first Heartless, soon moving into a flurry of attacks that didn't top until the last Heartless present was defeated. She took this chance to get out of the alcove and try to make her way to the cave, where she told Kairi to hide.

* * *

Aseru fought her way past the many waves of Heartless that tried to attack her as she tried to head for the small cave where she told Kairi to wait, she just had to hope that she wasn't too late to lock the keyhole before the Heartless could take out the world's heart or worse, fail to reach Kairi before the Heartless could find her location.

As she was crossing where the wooden plank bridge reached to the small islet, she met up with a familiar face.

"Aseru! It's you!" Sora called out.

"Sora! So you came to the island too?" Aseru cried out in surprise.

"Yeah, I saw Riku and Kairi's boats so I thought they came to check on the raft. Aseru, what's happening here? There's these black creatures everywhere." Sora quickly nodded and explained his side of the story.

"These creatures are dangerous, you shouldn't be fighting them without a weapon." Aseru frowned.

"I do have a weapon, kind of." Sora showed his wooden sword, although it was starting to show signs of damage.

"Sora, a wooden sword is not going to help." Aseru face-palmed.

"I know that, but it's the only thing I have. Anyway, have you seen Riku or Kairi?" Sora countered.

"I-" Aseru was about to start before Sora interrupted her.

"Wait, I see Riku! He's on that islet!" He pointed out. Both Aseru and Sora approached the islet and called out to Riku.

"Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" Sora said when they arrived.

"Sora, I've been trying to tell you, Kairi's-"

"The door...has opened."

Aseru suddenly snapped her head to Riku, a shiver fell down her spine at the way he said that. "Riku...?" Something was wrong, this wasn't the Riku she knew and came to befriend over the last six days...Even if he did drive her up the wall with his constant interrogating.

"What?" Sora seemed to be as perplexed as Aseru was.

"The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!"

"What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!" Sora shook his head, unable to understand why Riku was saying these things at a time like this.

"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku seemed had ignored what Sora had actually meant. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance, we can't let fear stop us. I'm not afraid of the darkness!" Riku continued before outstretching his hand.

"Riku..." Sora felt torn about what he should say but thankfully Aseru was able to speak for him.

"Riku... You're acting weird! This isn't like you! Don't you care about Kairi?! She's waiting for us at the cave!"

"Wait, she was there? Why didn't you say so?" Sora looked taken aback.

"I would have, if you'd let me finish earlier." Aseru narrowed her eyes in annoyance at Sora.

"Heh heh..." Sora laughed sheepishly.

Just then their direction turned back to Riku when they saw a black circle appeared below Riku, outstretching its tendrils towards Riku as if ready to drag him in.

Without a second thought, Sora rushed towards him in an attempt to save him.

"Sora! Wait!" Aseru tried to stop him but was halted when Heartless decided to appear in front of her. "Outta the way!" She angrily pulled a spinning attack on the Heartless, taking them out swiftly, it was just a good thing they were the lowest level of Heartless otherwise that would they would have been tougher to beat.

Once they were gone, Aseru continued to dash forwards, now seeing that two black circles had formed. "Sora! Riku!" Aseru cried out in fear for her friends. As if on cue, a bright light blinded her eyes for a moment, using her arm to protect them, once the light faded and her eyes had refocus, she lowered her arm to find Sora was alright, Riku however was nowhere in sight.

"Sora! Am I glad that you're alright! Huh?" She sighed in relief, in the corner of her eye, she noticed that Sora was now holding a Keyblade. "I don't believe it! You have a Keyblade too!" Aseru gasped in disbelief.

"Key...blade?" Sora looked weirdly at her and then back at the Keyblade. "What happened to Riku? Is he...?"

"I don't know, Sora. I'll explain the deal with the Keyblade later, right now, use that to fight off the Heartless. All Heartless are powerless against Keyblades, it's like their poison to them. Just think of it as a sword but...key-like." Aseru gave a very brief answer.

Sora looked at the Keyblade for a moment before his mind recalled another important matter. "Kairi! We need to find Kairi!" Sora cried out as he remembered about Kairi.

Aseru nodded in agreement and turned to where the secret cave was. "I know exactly where she is. It was Kairi who found me and woke me up, if she hadn't, the Heartless would have probably taken advantage of me and took my heart without even knowing it. I owe my life to her. C'mon, let's go!" Aseru guided Sora to where she knew Kairi would be waiting, if she had done as Aseru suggested.

* * *

Once entering the cave, that was still Heartless-free, they were able to spot Kairi almost right away, but like with Riku, she had noticed something was wrong with Kairi...

"Kairi!" Sora smiled in great relief and called out to her.

Kairi had slowly turned around to face where Sora was. "Sora." Her voice was monotone and lifeless, even her face failed to show any emotion.

"Kairi...? Are you...okay?" Aseru outstretched her hand.

The door suddenly slammed open with waves of darkness pouring out. The wind had blown Kairi towards Sora, who outstretched his own arms to catch her, but when she collided, her body just vanished, as if it had entered Sora's own body.

"No..." Aseru's eyes widened, it was her worst fears made real. That 'Kairi' was the physical manifestation of her heart, the Heartless had found her first! But why did Kairi's heart suddenly vanish when she went past Sora? Why didn't the Heartless steal it? She turned her direction to the door and tried to use her Keyblade on the door, the wind was too much however and blew both her and Sora away.

"Aseru!" Sora's voice called out to her before she had blacked out.

* * *

When Aseru's senses returned after the powerful gust of black wind blew her and Sora away, she found herself on a lone patch of land with only a few trees left over, the sky had turned completely black with no moons or stars present, it was like they had been torn from the sky, the once blue ocean was replaced by a sea of purple clouds and the once gentle winds had turned into harsh gusts of air that blew her hair around.

She saw that there was another plateau above her, and on it, she saw Sora was fighting a giant Heartless, the biggest one she had ever seen! Its chest had a gaping hole in the shape of a heart and it looked a bit like Sora's shadow, if it had turned into a violent golem with the intent to kill.

"Sora!" Aseru tried to scream out against the screeching winds that overpowered her voice.

The land below her crumbled, starting from the edges and slowly making its way inward to destroy what little of the land is left. Aseru began to despair, believing that this was the end for her.

_'I'm such a failure. I'm so sorry, Master Yen Sid...Kyrie...I couldn't do anything, I couldn't even save the friends I made here...' _Aseru felt her eyes watered as droplets fell from her cheeks.

**"No! Don't give up!"**

_'What?' _Her eyes widened in surprise at the voice that echoed in her mind.

**"It's never too late! Please don't give up! You still have so much to fight for, I have faith in you, so don't lose faith in yourself. I'll be waiting for you, okay?"**

"Wait, who are you?" Aseru looked up to the sky, trying to find the source of that voice, but it had gone. "What am I going to do...? It's not like I can just spread wings and fly." Aseru tried to figure out an answer as the land below her continued to crack and break away, her eyes snapped in realization when she found her answer.

"Fly? That's it! I _can _fly!" Aseru smiled as she remembered that she had mastered the 'float' spell back at Mysterious Tower. "Float!" Aseru used her Keyblade and casted the spell on herself, she levitated above the ground just as the last patch of land crumbled away into nothing.

She used her spell to float herself higher to the other plateau where Sora was, he had just seen Aseru fly over and landed as he finished another attack on the giant heartless before him.

"Aseru! You're okay!" Sora beamed happily, still holding his keyblade in hand.

"Sorry about that, I had a bit of a nervous breakdown and then I remembered I could use float magic. I can't believe I forgot all about that..." Aseru answered honestly.

"That's great but...we're not alone right now." Sora pointed to the huge goliath of a Heartless. "I managed to weaken it down...I think." Sora added.

"Well, you won't have to fight him alone this time." Aseru brought her Keyblade into an attack stance, ready to fight the giant heartless, until the land below them began to shake.

"Oh c'mon! Seriously?!" Aseru yelled.

The large Heartless was lifted up into the air towards the huge ominous black ball in the sky. Aseru felt herself being lifted up as well from the lack of gravity until Sora managed to grab hold her arm and used his remaining free arm to grip on to a piece of plank wood that remained on the ground firmly. She dispelled her Keyblade in order to concentrate on not letting go.

"Don't let go!" Sora shouted out, trying to speak above the noise.

"I-I'll try!" Aseru really did try her best to keep hold of Sora, however, she felt Sora's and her own grip slowly slip out of their control, until finally the friction caused by the strong winds won, tearing their hold and thrown violently into the sky.

They were not even able to call out for each other before the darkness enveloped them both. The world of Destiny Islands was no more...Its star above Traverse Town faded into the darkness not with a roar, but a soft whimper.

* * *

Alrighty, episode two completed! I'm on fire with this story! =D Hopefully episode 3 will be as done as quick as these two.

Please read and review if you have the time and let me know what you think of the story. =D

Now that we turn to next act of our story, this is where things get a little more interesting. =)

Until next chapter, this is Moogle Empress signing out! Happy reading everyone! =D

Moogle: Kupo!


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